Suggested Level

Enemies

Contents

A set of the villagers tells you about some bandits coming to attack one of their own around nightfall. If you accept the quest you tell them to go back to their homes and bar the doors. You then have to wait until around dusk (after 7pm), likely with Meditation, for the bandits to show up.

Once the proper time arrives you will see a set of bandits going around knocking on the doors telling their target to come out. They are initially neutral and will not attack you on sight, nor can you attack them. On the outskirts of the village will be Little Red, a somewhat smaller woman who happens to be the leader of the group.

When you walk close enough to Red a conversation starts. The various conversation options end up with two primary conclusions: either you let Red and her men kill the one person they're looking for or you fight them.

If Geralt let them kill him: The end. No fight ensues and the quest finishes. You get half the reward.

IF Geralt fights against them: You, obviously, have to fight Red and her men. Red however turns out to be a Werewolf and since she transforms right in front of you, you have to move very quickly to avoid an initial attack. And therein starts the problems that makes this fight much more difficult than normal and is the reason for the Preparation Note below.

Red is a Werewolf, a magical creature that needs your Silver Sword. Her men are human, which need the Steel Sword. If you do not have Manual sword drawing Geralt will switch his sword every time he either hits, or is hit by, an opponent of the wrong type. The wrong sword type does very little damage to an enemy and if you hit Red with a Steel Sword it also stuns you to boot. This constant sword-switching will completely cripple you and likely lead to your death in a fight that you would normally be fine with.

Your best option is to have Manual sword drawing, start and stay with the Silver sword and just roll away from the human bandits as they get close and focus entirely on Red. Drop her first using Axii-stunning combat and then when she's down switch to your Steel sword, and likely Aard, and finish off the bandits. You will then get XP and money as a reward. And don't forget to turn off manual sword drawing afterwards which is normally quite handy. Fights with both magical and non-magical enemies on the same side are quite rare.

Alternatively, use bombs (explosive and poisonous) and signs (all of them work against the humans) to pick off the human enemies away from the werewolf. Once all of them are dead, switching to the silver sword against Little Red will lead to a standard 1-on-1 duel (experience with fighting these creatures should have been acquired during the sub-quest Wild at Heart and the main quest The Whispering Hillock). Provided players avoid being surrounded by both humans and the monster, the battle should not prove difficult if it is undertaken around the recommended character level.

Geralt's travels took him to a certain village whose inhabitants were clearly anxious about something. It turned out they were expecting a gang of bandits led by a woman known as Little Red to attack any minute. She was out for the blood of a certain Bertram who she claimed had wronged her. Geralt promised to defend the villagers.

If Geralt spares Little Red:

When Litte Red's band attacked, it became clear the matter was not at all as clear as it had at first seemed. The bandits' leader assured Geralt she did not want to hurt anyone except for this Bertram. The man had worked with her at one point as an informer pointing out who was worth robbing, but then turned and reported them to the authorities.

Faced with the choice of killing several people or letting one guilty man be punished, Geralt decided to let Litte Red have her revenge. For that, he received a reward.

If Geralt kills Little Red:

When Little Red's band attacked, it was clear the villagers had bet on the right horse in hiring Geralt. He made quick work of the cutthroats, collected his reward and went off into the sunset.